Given the same water depth and mooring tension, the length of the ground cable of a 19 pound/foot wire rope mooring line in comparison to a 90 pound/foot mooring chain will be __________.

Correct Answer: Option A — shorter

Ground cable catenary equations confirm that a lighter, flexible wire rope (19 lb/ft) forms a steeper curve under tension, resulting in a shorter horizontal ground cable footprint on the seabed than a heavier, high-mass mooring chain (90 lb/ft) at identical tensions.